"Chi... Chihiro..."
"Didn't I tell you to add 'Master'?"
"..."
"Forget it, forget it."
Seeing Nagasaki Soyo's stubborn refusal to give in, Tsuzuki Chihiro waved her hand dismissively, splashing a few bubbles in the bathtub.
Yes, she was currently in Soyo's bathroom, completely submerged in the soapy bathwater—except for her injured right leg, which was propped up on the edge of the tub in an ungraceful manner.
"Aren't you worried your wound will get worse?"
Soyo rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she found Chihiro to be mature, reliable, and more thoughtful than she had expected.
But at other times... this girl could be unbelievably childish, especially when it came to dealing with her.
Of course, even though Soyo mentally criticized Chihiro for being "childish," she had to admit that in every confrontation between them, she had never once gained the upper hand.
"It's fine. I trust you'll take good care of it for me."
"...I'm not your personal doctor."
"Less talking, more scrubbing."
"Yeah, yeah."
Reluctantly, Soyo stood up, grabbed a towel, and used her clean fingers to touch the well-defined, beautiful back of the stunning girl before her.
She didn't have feelings for girls—at least, that's what she told herself.
Sure, she wasn't perfect, but she wasn't about to get flustered just because this girl teased her a little.
The reason she was feeling complicated right now had nothing to do with Chihiro—it was because of the mess she had made earlier when talking with Taki.
"Chihiro, what are you planning to do?"
"Hmm... honestly, because of what you pulled today, I have no choice but to change my original plan."
In truth, Chihiro wasn't too concerned about this so-called "crisis."
For her, coaxing a bunch of inexperienced students was practically effortless.
The real challenge lay in ensuring that once the job was done, Soyo could take over smoothly—
All while keeping her true identity under wraps and quietly resolving the situation.
In other words, she had to admit it: today's "out-of-character" Soyo was actually just Tsuzuki Chihiro herself.
And as for the culprit behind it all—Nagasaki Soyo?
She was nothing more than an unwitting "victim" who hadn't even stepped foot outside her house today.
"So what are you planning—"
"Put some strength into it. Did you not eat?"
Hearing Chihiro, with her hair cascading down her back, still complaining while receiving this VIP back-scrubbing service, Soyo puffed up in frustration and muttered:
"I didn't eat... You said I had to finish the chores before I could have dinner."
"Talking back again?"
"You—!"
"Don't want to revive your precious CRYCHIC anymore?" Chihiro smirked. "No worries, I'm not some big bad villain. In fact, I feel really guilty treating you like this. If you don't need my help, I'll just leave."
"Wait—" Soyo panicked. Chihiro was her only option right now. "At least tell me how long you expect me to 'atone' for this."
"Relax. Just until tonight."
"That's it? Alright, I can handle that."
Soyo, completely unaware of what awaited her tonight, let out a relieved sigh.
For now, she chose not to argue with Chihiro anymore and instead focused on scrubbing this insufferable yet impossibly flawless girl's back.
"So? What exactly are you planning? As your employer, don't I have a right to know?"
"Of course. And I promise I won't interfere this time—I'll trust you completely."
"Good. Then I'll tell you. I plan to bring in some outside help to cover for you."
"Outside help?"
"Iseri Nina. I saw her at a prep school today. My guess? She probably dropped out after a fight with her family and came to Tokyo alone to study for entrance exams."
"Nina...?" Soyo was momentarily confused. "How does she fit into this?"
"Why did you fumble when Taki asked you what happened yesterday? And why did you suddenly start having second thoughts?"
"Uh... are you asking me?"
"I'm not. I'm just giving you a way to clean up your mess." Chihiro rolled her eyes, cutting off Soyo's self-reflection. "In my version of events, you ran into Nina yesterday and accompanied her to the prep school."
"While talking to her, you found out that she had decided to let go of her old bandmates and focus solely on studying. That realization made you reflect on your own situation."
"...You're not seriously bringing up that whole 'Soyo studying abroad' theory again, are you?"
Soyo suddenly had a bad feeling.
If she didn't end up going abroad at this point, she'd almost feel guilty towards Chihiro.
"That's right. You realized that, like Nina, you'll probably end up studying overseas. And you started worrying that your band would meet the same fate."
"Ah! I get it now!"
Soyo's eyes lit up as she pieced it together. "That ties perfectly with Taki's whole comparison between me and Sakiko. That way, my hesitation becomes her problem—it's her pressure that made me retreat!"
Instead of looking like a coward, it makes it seem like I chose to step back to avoid making the same mistakes as Sakiko... Genius~
"Oh, by the way, Chihiro, turn around. Yeah, put your right leg on the edge, then lean forward."
"Huh?"
Chihiro was confused but followed the instructions.
The moment she did, Soyo smacked her round, perfectly-shaped backside—producing a crisp sound.
"Brilliant!!!"
"You—what the hell is wrong with you?! You could've just said it! Why did you have to smack me?!"
"Ahem." Soyo, feeling quite satisfied, decided to leave it at that. "But there's one problem... Nina has to play along, right?"
"She doesn't have to lie. She really is here to study."
"Did you seriously think everyone was so obsessed with playing music that they'd just give up on school?"
"Dropping out just to be in a band? That's way too impulsive. Nina would never do something like that."
"...Uh, Chihiro? You literally did that."
"...Heh. Wonderful, just wonderful. Soyo, you're getting bolder. You just wait until tonight."
"Uh... I suddenly remembered something important. You take your time finishing your bath—I'm going back to my room to study."
Seeing the unsettling smirk on Chihiro's face, Soyo immediately bolted, not even sparing a glance back.
It wasn't until she locked herself in her room, making sure Chihiro wouldn't come in and murder her, that she finally relaxed.
But she had to admit—Chihiro was fast. In just a few hours, she had already come up with the perfect solution.
Not only did it make all of Soyo's actions logical, but it also shifted the blame onto Taki.
Now, Taki might even feel guilty enough to come and comfort her.
What a master manipulator...
Just then, her phone buzzed.
Not just once—multiple times in rapid succession, as if someone was bombarding her with messages.
She picked up her phone and saw the sender—Sakiko.
And the endless stream of images.
Sakiko never sent this many pictures at once.
Could it be...? Is she finally willing to make up with me?
Is she sharing her daily life with me again?
Trembling, Soyo unlocked her screen.
But the moment she saw the images, her mind went blank.
"...Wait. These pictures... look like my house?"
The balcony, the laundry rack, the kitchen cabinets, the bathtub with bathwater still in it—
And the pile of clothes dumped into the bathroom sink.
"Wait... these are my clothes?"
Then, the next message from Sakiko dropped—and Soyo's brain short-circuited.
[Sakiko: Why did you make Chihiro do so much work tonight? Laundry, dishes, cooking—she even ran your bath and cleaned up your clothes??]
[She doesn't even realize she's being taken advantage of! She texted me asking if she's 'really that capable.' But you seriously couldn't do any of this yourself?!]
"...Tsuzuki Chihiro. Tsuzuki Chihiro!!!"
She turned the tables on me—playing the victim and running to Sakiko to tattle?!
And she even staged the photos?!
"No... I can't get mad. I still need her..."
A true mastermind never acts on impulse.
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T/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OMGGGG I TOLD YOU SOYO'S A FREAK